Xavi Happy with Sadd Fan Support ‘I Was Very Happy to Participate in This Qatar Classico’
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
NBA | Page 6 BBADMINTONADMINTON | Page 5 Bucks hand Japanese To Advertise here Warriors wins suggest Call: 444 11 300, 444 66 621 fi rst loss of a shift of season generations Monday, December 14, 2015 FOOTBALL Rabia I 3, 1437 AH Mourinho’s Chelsea GULF TIMES faith faces leaders Leicester test SPORT Page 2 QSL Xavi happy with Sadd fan support ‘I was very happy to participate in this Qatar Classico’ By Joe Koraith on the team is being seen. Progressively, the Doha Al Sadd’s coach will understand the players and their role new coach better. And we believe that we will see the fruits Jesualdo of those changes in the matches to come,” said ast week’s Qatar Classico between Al Ferreira. the Spaniard. Sadd and Al Rayyan lived up to its hype Sadd will take on El Jaish today in another with nearly 11,000 spectators watching high voltage encounter and Xavi wants his team the high-voltage encounter at the Jassim to continue the winning run and reduce the gap Lbin Hamad Stadium. Both sets of fans cheered with Rayyan at the top. “Now we have to forget themselves hoarse, using their vocal chords to about the Rayyan match. We have to focus on inspire their team to do better. In the end it was winning the next game. The gap between us and the home side that emerged victorious. Rayyan Rayyan is nine points and we have to work on were the slight favourites going into the match Xavi during a press conference yesterday. reducing that,” said the Sadd No. 6. but Sadd turned the tables and stopped their Sadd have had a bit of stop-start season but To have an experienced player like Xavi in unbeaten run this season. the result against Rayyan has helped lift the your team is a huge asset for the coach and Fer- Sadd star Xavi Hernandez, donning his fa- players, and Xavi credited their new coach Jesu- reira acknowledged that. “I am very happy to be mous midfi eld magician’s hat here too, was glad aldo Ferreira for bring about the change. accompanied by Xavi today. I am happy to be to have been part of such an important match, “I am happy to work under this famous coach. working with this great star every day,” the Por- thanking the home team fans for turning up in The coach is well experienced and as players we tuguese manager said yesterday. such large numbers. are very happy to work with him. We are happy This ‘great star’ is defi nitely pulling in the “I was very happy to participate in this Qatar with the changes done by the coach,” said Xavi. crowds and while Xavi is happy to see such Classico, especially because of the presence of The Barcelona legend also believes that his large number of fans turn up for the Qatar Clas- such a huge crowd. I was very happy to see Sadd team will do better under their new Portuguese sico, the fans must be even more happy to get a Al Sadd star Xavi Hernandez (right) said he was was glad to have been part of last week’s Qatar fans coming to the stadium to support us,” said manager. “The result of the new coach’s eff ect chance to see him conjure his magic. Classico between his team and Al Rayyan. PICTURES: Othman Iraqi Gulf Times 2 Monday, December 14, 2015 FOOTBALL PREVIEW Mourinho’s Chelsea faith faces Leicester test AFP Fortunately for Mourinho—who suc- than in the Champions League. with Mourinho likely to keep the same London ceeded Ranieri as Chelsea manager “This season, as every season here, is starting line-up, meaning Cesc Fabre- when he fi rst took charge of the club in so long. The good thing about us is we gas will once again start on the bench. 2004—the latest emerging crisis was can still change it. We can make a good Vardy was again named Premier ose Mourinho’s claim that stalled by the mid-week Champions season. A good season at the moment League Player of the Month last month Chelsea’s season is fi nally head- League defeat of FC Porto, which en- for us, of course, is not the aim to think after extending his scoring run to 11 ing in the right direction will face sured that Chelsea advanced to the last about, but focus on every game.” successive league games. a stern test when the Premier 16 as winners of their group. When the teams last met in April, That run was broken in last week- LeagueJ champions visit unexpected With their European future assured, Chelsea’s 3-1 win took them to within end’s 3-0 defeat of Swansea City, in pace-setters Leicester City today. the club can concentrate on improving sight of the title, while Leicester were which Riyad Mahrez scored a hat-trick, Claudio Ranieri’s Leicester will go a disastrous domestic campaign that battling to avoid relegation. and the Algeria winger believes the into the game having been dislodged sees them currently lying 15th, peril- Since then, the fortunes of both pressure on Monday will rest on Chel- from the head of the table by Manches- ously close to the relegation places. teams have been transformed, with sea’s shoulders. ter City, who moved top on goal diff er- The expectation ever since the open- Leicester’s rise linked to the startling “I think (the pressure) is for them be- ence following Saturday’s 2-1 victory ing weeks of the season was that Chel- scoring form of Jamie Vardy. cause we don’t have pressure,” Mahrez over Swansea City. sea would soon turn things around and “Vardy at the moment is running a lot said. “It’s good to be fi rst. No one said But their form this season has been resume their challenge for a top-four and is making the space for other play- at the beginning of the season Leicester in stark contrast to that of Mourin- fi nish. But with 14 points separat- ers as well,” Ivanovic added. “They are are going to be fi rst in December. Never. ho’s Chelsea, whose last league out- ing them from the Champions League confi dent. I think it will be very hard.” “We’re just training, laughing, jok- ing ended in a shock home defeat by qualifi cation places, the manager’s be- For Chelsea, the lack of a consistent ing and when it’s the game, work hard, Bournemouth. That result left the Blues lief that his side are back on track must now transfer their European form to the “Teams like Porto like to play more. goalscorer has reinforced their prob- work for each other and we will see manager stunned and appeared to have be justifi ed soon if they are to launch a Premier League. They are physically not strong like the lems, although Diego Costa at least what we can do. We just focus on our undone the progress made by the Stam- charge up the table. “The Champions League is a dif- teams in the Premier League. showed fl ickers of his old form during team. Obviously Chelsea are a big club. ford Bridge outfi t since the last interna- Right-back Branislav Ivanovic is ferent style of football, diff erent com- “We need to work very, very hard and the win over Porto. We just play like we always do and see tional break. convinced, however, that Chelsea can pletely,” said the Serbian. much more hard in the Premier League The striker is again expected to start, what we can do.” FOCUS Minnows Verona hold Milan, Inter blank Udinese to Timid, directionless, go 4 points clear AFP Rome C Milan were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw at home to bottom side Verona Ain Serie A yesterday, as the Rossoneri disjointed: Where did dropped points against a team in the relega- tion zone for the second week running. Milan grabbed a 52nd-minute lead at the San Siro through Colombia striker Carlos Bac- ca but Verona, who are still without a win this season, levelled with a Luca Toni penalty that followed the dismissal of Dutch midfielder Nigel de Jong just five minutes later. it go wrong for Man U? Following last week’s goalless draw at Carpi, Sinisa Mihajlovic’s side have won just one of their last five matches and lie in Van Gaal’s side show little method in their mad mix of the notably slow with a smattering of fly- seventh place, 11 points adrift of city rivals and leaders Inter Milan. ers against the verve and confidence by Bournemouth, writes Barney Ronay for The Guardian Empoli continued their climb up the table with a 3-0 victory at home to second-from- bottom Carpi as Massimo Maccarone scored twice either side of Riccardo Saponara’s Manchester goal to send the hosts to a third straight win. United manager Meanwhile, Slovenian midfielder Valter Louis van Gaal Birsa’s 76th-minute strike steered Chievo to a 1-0 win over Atalanta. Earlier on Saturday, Argentinian Mauro Icardi signalled his return to action with a first brace of the season as Inter Milan beat Udinese 4-0 to go four points clear of Fiorentina. Udinese’s last defeat at their re- furbished Friuli stadium came nearly three months ago, in a 3-2 reverse to Inter’s city rivals AC Milan. But Roberto Mancini’s visitors turned on the style to register their biggest win this season and maintain their bid for a first scu- detto since their treble-winning campaign in 2010.